In the co-main event of last night’s (Sunday, January 15, 2017) UFC Phoenix card, two of the 155-pound division’s finest went head-to-head as Joe Lauzon and Marcin Held engaged in Octagon war. The first round proved to be quite an exciting one, as Lauzon dropped a plethora of elbows to Marcin’s skull during a takedown attempt;
In the co-main event of last night’s (Sunday, January 15, 2017) UFC Phoenix card, two of the 155-pound division’s finest went head-to-head as Joe Lauzon and Marcin Held engaged in Octagon war.
The first round proved to be quite an exciting one, as Lauzon dropped a plethora of elbows to Marcin’s skull during a takedown attempt; but a failed armbar attempt allowed Marcin to stand up once more. Marcin took Lauzon down and maintained side control for a moment, before Lauzon got up and dropped Marcin seconds before the round’s end.
Round two featured Held’s impressive wrestling ability on display while Lauzon yet again threatened with an armbar attempt that was later escaped.
The third and final round saw Held once again utilized his grappling to control the bout and dictate where the fight went, however, a split decision win was awarded to Lauzon. Following the bout Lauzon admitted he didn’t believe the judges got the result right, but nonetheless it will go down as a victory for the former Ultimate Fighter contestant.
You can check out the full fight video highlights here:
On Sunday evening, the MMA world likely saw the final Octagon appearance of a true legend.
UFC Hall Of Famer and former two-division World Champion B.J. Penn made his return, losing via stoppage to dangerous undefeated contender Yair Rodriguez, …
On Sunday evening, the MMA world likely saw the final Octagon appearance of a true legend.
UFC Hall Of Famer and former two-division World Champion B.J. Penn made his return, losing via stoppage to dangerous undefeated contender Yair Rodriguez, a former winner of The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil.
Rodriguez stopped Penn via TKO at just 24 seconds of the second round after dominating the majority of the fight, blasting the Hawaiian MMA legend with a wide variety of kicks.
Below are UFC Fight Night 103: Rodriguez vs. Penn quick-match results from Phoenix, Arizona:
Main Card (FOX Sports 1)
Yair Rodriguez def. B.J. Penn via technical knockout (Round 2, 0:24)
Joe Lauzon def. Marcin Held via split decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28)
Ben Saunders def. Court McGee via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Sergio Pettis def. John Moraga via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass)
Augusto Mendes def. Frankie Saenz via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Oleksiy Oliynk def. Viktor Pesta via submission (Ezekiel choke) (Round 1, 2:57)
Tony Martin def. Alex White via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Walt Harris def. Chase Sherman via knockout (Round 2, 2:41)
Nina Ansaroff def. Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger via submission (rear-naked choke) (Round 3, 3:39)
Drakkar Klose def. Devin Powell via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Joachim Christensen def. Bojan Mihaljovic via technical knockout (Round 3, 2:05)
Cyril Asker def. Dmitri Smoliakov via technical knockout (Round 1, 2:41)
UFC Fight Night 103’s headliner saw Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Hall of Famer B.J. Penn (16-11-2) take on rising featherweight prospect Yair Rodriguez (9-1). This was Penn’s first bout since July 2014. “The Prodigy” had come out of retirement. “El Pantera” came into the bout on a seven-fight winning streak. The No. 10 ranked 145-pounder
UFC Fight Night 103’s headliner saw Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Hall of Famer B.J. Penn (16-11-2) take on rising featherweight prospect Yair Rodriguez (9-1). This was Penn’s first bout since July 2014. “The Prodigy” had come out of retirement.
“El Pantera” came into the bout on a seven-fight winning streak. The No. 10 ranked 145-pounder looked to move past the former two-division champion and face a top 10 fighter.
Things got ugly for Penn quick.
A body kick from Rodriguez followed by a straight punch landed to start the fight. He went for a spinning kick, but Penn pushed him against the fence. Rodriguez got out of the position.
He went high with a kick, but it was blocked. A jumping switch kick was block by Penn. Rodriguez landed a knee to the body. A right hand from Penn found the target.
A hard high kick got Penn off balanced. Rodriguez threw a jumping knee. He threw a spin kick to the body. An inside leg kick had Penn on the canvas briefly. Rodriguez had a cut on the bridge of his nose.
Rodriguez landed a front kick. He kept throwing hard kicks high and to the body. An uppercut in the clinch landed for Penn, but Rodriguez answered with a knee to the body as the round ended.
At the start of round two, Rodriguez dropped Penn with a front kick followed by a straight punch. He landed numerous hammerfists before referee John McCarthy stopped the fight.
Final Result: Yair Rodriguez def. B.J. Penn via TKO (Strikes) – R2, 0:24
The co-main event of UFC Fight Night 103 featured a lightweight scrap between Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) veteran Joe Lauzon (26-12) and former Bellator mainstay Marcin Held (22-5). Lauzon had come into the bout going 2-3 in his last five outings. Meanwhile, Held was making his second appearance inside the Octagon and was in search
The co-main event of UFC Fight Night 103 featured a lightweight scrap between Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) veteran Joe Lauzon (26-12) and former Bellator mainstay Marcin Held (22-5).
Lauzon had come into the bout going 2-3 in his last five outings. Meanwhile, Held was making his second appearance inside the Octagon and was in search of his first UFC win.
Held went for a leg kick in the beginning of the fight. Held connected with a left jab. “J-Lau” dropped some vicious elbows on Held as he went for a takedown. Held went down and scrambled back to his feet.
Lauzon wrapped his arms around his opponent. Held was able to reverse and score a takedown. He moved to side control. Lauzon pushed his feet off the cage to get back up.
Held kept Lauzon’s back against the cage. A knee to the body landed for Held. They separated and a mouse formed over the eye of “J-Lau.” Lauzon landed a strike and Held looked for an armbar to end the round.
A spin kick from Held missed the mark early in the second stanza. He shot in and secured a takedown. Held got the back of his opponent and locked in the body triangle.
Lauzon was able to escape and went for a takedown. He got it, but Held got back up quickly. Held dumped Lauzon down at the center of the Octagon. “J-Lau” went for an armbar. Held escaped and remained in top control until the round ended.
The final round was underway and Held threw out his jab. Lauzon moved forward, but Held reversed the position. Lauzon got his back off the fence, but he was dumped down.
Held decided to stand back up. He continued to land his jab. Lauzon stepped in and landed a punch. Lauzon went for a takedown, but the balance of Held kept him up.
Another takedown was completed by Held. Referee Herb Dean urged Held to work in his position. Held had a unique spin to improve his position as the final round concluded.
In a baffling result, two of the three judges score the fight for Lauzon. The other judge saw Held winning all three rounds.
After the fight, Lauzon admitted “it wasn’t my night.”
Final Result: Joe Lauzon def. Marcin Held via split decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28)
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) got the main card of its first event of 2017 underway with a flyweight clash in Phoenix, Arizona. Hometown favorite John Moraga (16-5) stepped inside the Octagon to do battle with Sergio Pettis (14-2). Moraga had lost two in a row coming into the bout and was possibly on the
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) got the main card of its first event of 2017 underway with a flyweight clash in Phoenix, Arizona. Hometown favorite John Moraga (16-5) stepped inside the Octagon to do battle with Sergio Pettis (14-2).
Moraga had lost two in a row coming into the bout and was possibly on the chopping block with a loss. Pettis was in search of his third straight victory.
“The Phenom’s” streak is growing.
At the start, Moraga went for leg kicks. Pettis kept throwing out his jab and landed a left hand. They engaged in a clinch and Moraga threw a knee to the body. He pushed “The Phenom” against the fence, but Pettis got out.
Pettis kept his distance and constantly landed the jab. A cut under Moraga’s left eye formed. A hard combination landed for Moraga. Pettis took Moraga down, but he got back up.
Moraga’s back was against the fence briefly. A high kick from Moraga was blocked. They exchanged shots, but Moraga was the one on wobbly legs. Pettis dropped his opponent near the end of the round.
The second round began and a straight left hand connected for Pettis. An inside leg kick landed for Moraga. Pettis’ combination found the mark.
Moraga avoided a guillotine and took Pettis down. The fight returned standing shortly after. Moraga landed a jab followed by a right hand. He blocked a high kick. Moraga went for a single leg takedown and pushed “The Phenom” against the fence.
They separated with Pettis landed on the break. Moraga moved in for another takedown attempt. Pettis avoided it and got his back off the fence. A jumping switch kick from Pettis was blocked and the round ended soon after.
The final round was underway and Moraga went for a straight punch to the body. He landed a clean left hook. A spinning wheel kick from Pettis couldn’t find the target. Pettis got in a left hand.
He landed a jab and went for a head kick. Moraga pushed Pettis against the cage. Moraga lifted Pettis up and took him down to the mat. He threw out an elbow. Moraga went for a heel hook, but Pettis wound up in top control.
The two returned to their feet. This time, Pettis had Moraga against the fence. They broke free and Pettis popped away with his jab. A short right hand landed for “The Phenom.” He scored a takedown at the end of the fight.
All three judges scored the fight for Pettis.
Final Result: Sergio Pettis def. John Moraga via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) started its first event of 2017 with the Fight Night prelims in Phoenix, Arizona. The card began on UFC Fight Pass and continued on FOX Sports 1 (FS1).
The FS1 portion of the prelims was headlined by a lightweight tilt between Drakkar Klose and Devin Powell. Both men made their UFC debuts. Klose’s offense and grappling were too much for Powell. Klose earned a unanimous decision win.
A barn burner in the bantamweight division featured Augusto Mendes and Frankie Saenz. The back-and-forth affair saw both men drop each other. In the end, Mendes got in the cleaner shots and took a split decision win.
Aleksei Oleinik made history by pulling off the first Ezekiel choke in UFC history. Despite being in full mount, Viktor Pesta was caught in the choke. Pesta was out and the fight was stopped.
In the featured bout of the UFC Fight Pass portion of the preliminary card, strawweights Nina Ansaroff went toe-to-toe with Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger. In the third round, Ansaroff took the back of her opponent and locked in a rear-naked choke. She forced the tap and celebrated with her girlfriend, UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes.
Here are the rest of the UFC Fight Night prelim results:
Heavyweight: Walt Harris def. Chase Sherman via knockout (strikes) – Round 2, 2:41
Light Heavyweight: Joachim Christensen def. Bojan Mihajlovic via KO (uppercut) at 2:05 of Round 3
Heavyweight: Cyril Asker def. Dmitrii Smoliakov via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 2:41
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJTQNY2Fzc4
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) started its first event of 2017 with the Fight Night prelims in Phoenix, Arizona. The card began on UFC Fight Pass and continued on FOX Sports 1 (FS1).
The FS1 portion of the prelims was headlined by a lightweight tilt between Drakkar Klose and Devin Powell. Both men made their UFC debuts. Klose’s offense and grappling were too much for Powell. Klose earned a unanimous decision win.
A barn burner in the bantamweight division featured Augusto Mendes and Frankie Saenz. The back-and-forth affair saw both men drop each other. In the end, Mendes got in the cleaner shots and took a split decision win.
Aleksei Oleinik made history by pulling off the first Ezekiel choke in UFC history. Despite being in full mount, Viktor Pesta was caught in the choke. Pesta was out and the fight was stopped.
In the featured bout of the UFC Fight Pass portion of the preliminary card, strawweights Nina Ansaroff went toe-to-toe with Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger. In the third round, Ansaroff took the back of her opponent and locked in a rear-naked choke. She forced the tap and celebrated with her girlfriend, UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes.
Here are the rest of the UFC Fight Night prelim results:
